Seok, 58, survives operation following Samho Jewelry rescue mission Surgery on the seriously wounded captain Seok Hae-kyun of the Samho Jewelry was showing neither optimistic nor pessimistic results, doctors at Ajou University Hospital said Sunday. Hospital chief Ryu Hee-sug, said the captain’s three-and-half-hour operation was tough. Seok Hae-kyun, the wounded captain of the Samho Jewelry, is tak

A local court Sunday issued arrest warrants for five Somali pirates who hijacked a Korean ship in the Arabian Sea and wounded its captain, leaving him in critical condition. This is the first time foreigners have been called into court over piracy. If convicted, they could spend more than five years behind bars. If proved to have shot the Korean captain at close range, those responsible could be g

Lee Kwang-jae, governor of Gangwon Province, was stripped of his position Thursday as the Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s sentence. Lee was earlier sentenced to a one-year prison term and a forfeit order of 114 million won ($102,000) for having received kickbacks from Park Yeon-cha, CEO of shoemaking company, Taekwang Industry.The term will also deprive Lee, who was an aide of the late Presid

In an apparent dampening of the government’s zeal to tackle human rights abuses in North Korea, the National Human Rights Commission’s budget for the area was slashed by one-third this year, officials said Wednesday. According to the independent organization, the budget allotted for the North Korea human rights section is 200 million won ($17,800), down from last year’s 331 million won. The commis

Korean parents are spending up to 200,000 won ($178) per child on private English education each month, a survey showed on Tuesday. But most are willing to pay this or more for their children’s sakes, indicating that families prioritize English education in their budgets, according to Yoon’s English School, one of the nation’s largest English education franchises. The private English educator surv

Last year, a 31-year-old office worker surnamed Kim received a phone call from the post office that she had a parcel to receive but there were a few problems. Then suddenly the phone hung up. She then made a phone call to the post office to get her item, where a staff worker informed her that she had been duped by voice phishing scammers.“They make money by inducing you to make extra-expensive int

Programs for foreigners fall victim to council's anachronismThe spat between Seoul City government and city council is likely to ruin the administration’s efforts to promote local tourism, as many programs for foreigners have been downsized due to a budget shortage this year.The Seoul Metropolitan Government last week announced this year’s cultural experience programs for foreigners, under which i

Are Koreans ready to pay more taxes in return for free school meals, nurseries and medical fees?How to finance “universal welfare” is now haunting the main opposition Democratic Party after it announced a slew of pledges for broader welfare benefits to attract voters in the 2012 general and presidential elections. Party members are facing off over how to finance the 16.4 trillion won ($14.7 billio

Jan. 15: Chemical freighter Samho Jewelry carrying 21 crewmembers including eight Koreans was captured by Somali pirates in the Arabian Sea between Oman and India. Jan. 16: South Korea's Cheonghae Unit dispatched 4,500-ton destroyer Choi Young to the scene. Jan. 18: South Korean troops fire at the Somali pirates as they attempt to hijack a Mongolian vessel. The shootout left three South Korean sol

From as early as next year, Seoulites will be able to stroll from Seoul Forest in the east to the top of Mount Nam in the city center without breaking their stride.The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Thursday that its project to link the city’s landmark parks and mountains with footpaths has begun, and is due to be completed by next year. The 8.4-kilometer pathway will be named “Geotgoshippen G

The government will adopt stricter measures to verify overseas academic diplomas and tighten its monitoring of universities hiring staff with such qualifications. The state-run National Research Foundation of Korea will oversee verification while the Korea Education and Research Information Service will seek to display the full text of the thesis for all overseas degrees acquired by Koreans, the M

A group of reformist lawmakers in the ruling Grand National Party on Wednesday submitted a revision bill to curb the National Assembly speaker’s authority in calling for a vote on bills at his own discretion. The bill aiming to prevent the dominant party’s unilateral propulsion of parliamentary proceedings is expected to face opposition from the ruling camp, which has been criticized for passing several controversial bills by taking advantage of the system.Rep. Jungwook Hong submitted the bill o

The prosecution Wednesday filed an arrest warrant for Lee Ho-jin, chairman of Taekwang Group, over illegal transfer of wealth, creation of slush funds and breach of trust. The investigation is expected to serve as a warning to other conglomerates including Hanwha, the nation’s 13th-largest chaebol. According to the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office, Lee has amassed a slush fund of more th

Prison term sought for Gyeonggi superintendent By Bae Ji-sookThe prosecution on Tuesday asked a local court to give a one year prison sentence to Gyeonggi educational superintendent Kim Sang-gon for violating the election law.His establishment of the foundation and distribution of a scholarship in his own name violates the election law prohibiting candidates from making public donations, the inves

Six Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court justices appointed under the Roh Moo-hyun administration are scheduled to retire this year and are likely to be replaced with conservative figures. The change of personnel is expected to create a stir within the judiciary, which has been accused of left-wing bias by the conservative administration and other politicians. A committee under the Supreme C

Latest in cases victimizing aspiring entertainersAn entertainment agent was arrested Monday for coercing prostitution among aspiring celebrities to achieve sponsorship, the police said.According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, a man identified as the family name of Lee was arrested for having raped two aspiring actresses and one singer several times between September 2007 and September la

Children in Haiti are a chorus of more than four million voices, nearly half of the country’s total population. Each one of these voices speaks for a child whose life has been forever altered by the January 2010 earthquake and the cholera, hurricane, and civil unrest emergencies that further complicated humanitarian response.This chorus of voices shares common hopes and aspirations and calls out i

The ruling Grand National Party sued Rep. Lee Seok-hyun and Park Jie-won of the main opposition Democratic Party on Friday for making a false accusation that a son of GNP chairman Ahn Sang-soo received special favors in his admission to the nation’s top school. GNP leader Ahn Sang-soo (right) meets Lee Hoi-chang, leader of a small opposition party, on Friday. (Yonhap News)Despite Lee’s public apol

Seven Koreans operating English training centers in the Philippines are likely to be deported for violating local immigration law, according to local media reports. The Seoul government has requested Manila for a humanitarian approach to the case, but observers say the Filipino authorities will adopt strict measures against to set an example. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade,

Welfare has emerged as a keyword for the 2012 presidential election as the main opposition Democratic Party finalized a package of “universal welfare” pledges as its central campaign strategy on Thursday. The move came weeks after Rep. Park Geun-hye, the leading presidential hopeful of the ruling Grand National Party by far, suggested what she called “tailored” welfare policies for Koreans: limiti